1931 Ford Roadster - French Connection

For many young hot rodders growing up over the last half century, seeing plenty of hopped-up Detroit steel parked at the local burger joint, gas station, or main strip in town was as easy as taking a walk on a hot summer day. Being influenced by what you saw came naturally, causing your mind to grasp concepts for ideas you’d want to work into your own car someday.

2/6Looking as if it is ready to drive off the pages of a vintage little book at 100 mph, Fabrice’s Model A roadster is all gow job. A perfect stance accented by a wicked combination of big ’n’ littles, cowl steering, a Hallock-styled windshield, and Deuce grille makes it a standout in any crowd.

Now, imagine growing up in France, surrounded by a sea of Citroen 2CVs and Renault Dauphines for inspiration. Sure, there would be a splash of supercar sightings with marques like Ferrari and Lamborghini occasionally tearing up the local streets, but if you wanted more than that, the offerings were real slim. For Fabrice Monceaux, growing up in France and having a passion for vintage American cars required a bit of imagination, especially at a young age. Early in his youth, he lived the dream through countless die-cast models where classic designs took hold of his young mind. The rare occasion of actually being able to see a ’50s- or ’60s-era, American-built car driving down the street always left him breathless.

Fabrice recalls his first issue of Nitro magazine as a big influence, having introduced him to the dramatic styling of the ’53-56 Cadillac Eldorado. From that point on, he was determined to only own American-built cars while living in France, which was easier said than done. At 17, before receiving his driver’s license, he scoured the local For Sale ads, located a ’58 Chevy Bel Air, and started living the dream. A ’55 Buick Century was soon to follow as well as a number of ’69 Camaro RS/SS’s. He later became a partner in an importing business, bringing American cars to France while also going to college for graphic design. One of his best memories is of cruising the tiny back streets of Paris in a pink ’59 Cadillac Sedan DeVille, which is no small feat in itself! A chance stop into a bookstore in Paris one afternoon was a turning point in his life when he came across the book Classic Hot Rods by Bo Bertilsson. His senses were overtaken by images in the book of post-war style hot rods, especially that of Doane Spencer’s Deuce roadster. Not long after, in 2003, Fabrice made the decision to sell off most of his car collection and move to Canada to launch a new magazine called V-8 Passion.

After settling in Brossard, Quebec, a few years went by as the magazine continued to grow. During a visit to the Granby International Auto Show in Quebec, he came across a rare Offenhauser six-deuce intake for a Chevy 348ci V-8 in the swap meet and thought it would be the perfect start for his long-overdue hot rod project. Having never forgotten the inspiration he received from seeing images of the Doane Spencer roadster, he thought it would be a great opportunity to build his very own roadster through the pages of his magazine. Taking many design cues from the Spencer car, he decided to incorporate them into a ’31 Ford roadster with a nod to post-war styling remaining virtually unchanged, with the exception of a ’60 348ci Chevy nestled between the ’rails. To get the project underway, Fabrice located an original ’31 Ford spine and delivered it to Dan’s Rod Shop in Saint-Philippe, Quebec, to get started. The team at Dan’s began by first stretching the original frame 3 inches while also Z’ing the rear 2-1/2 inches, boxing it, and adding a Dagel’s Street Rods X-member to tie it all together. Out back, a ’40 Ford rear was treated to a vintage Culver City Halibrand Model 201 V-8 quick-change filled with 4.22:1 cogs suspended in place by ’40 Ford split ’bones. A modified Posies Model A rear spring combined with Pete & Jakes tube shocks help soften the bumps. Up front, a Chassis Engineering dropped-and-drilled axle deftly matched to ’40 Ford spindles and split ’40 Ford ’bones keep everything in line while a wrapped Posies front leaf spring and Pete & Jakes tube shocks keep it all smooth. To tame the horsepower, fluid pushed through a ’40 Ford master cylinder to ’40 Ford brakes capped with ’59 Buick finned aluminum drums gets the job done. Ensuring an era-perfect stance, 16x4 ’40 Ford steelies wrapped in Coker/Firestone dirt track tires up front and 16x5 ’52 Mercury M1 truck steelies out back wrapped in Coker/Firestone piecrusts, gives the car an early dry lakes feel. In following the concept of a post-war era hot rod rejuvenated after a long sleep with the addition of a later model V-8 and trans to replace a tired Flathead and ’39 box, Fabrice had Atelier Champion of La Prairie, Quebec, breathe new life into a 348ci Chevy V-8. After tearing the engine down, it was cleaned up and filled with 10.25:1 slugs from Egge matched to stock rods, and warmed-over heads while an Isky stick sets the thump. A squadron of Holley 94s perched atop a vintage Offenhauser six-deuce intake suck plenty of air, while spark comes from a ’59 GM distributor hopped-up by PerTronix. Spent gases get dumped through a set of modified Sanderson Limefire headers and gear changes work through a Borg-Warner T5 trans rebuilt by TPR of Saint-Constant, Quebec.

Focusing on the body, Fabrice made a call to Brookville Roadster for one of their ’31 Ford roadster bodies and had it delivered it to CCR Technologie in Delson, Quebec. After discussing the project with shop owners John and Jay Croteau, the team concentrated on a number of updates to the fresh steel body to give it just the right personality. After recessing the firewall 1-1/2 inches to accommodate the engine, the team filled the cowl, mounted the Speedway Hallock-styled windshield, installed the filler for the ’25 Ford T gas tank in the trunk, and mounted the Schroeder cowl steering in place along with fabricating the steering blister. The team then blocked everything to perfection and prepped it for paint. John then laid down a lustrous coating of custom-blended PPG black vibe to bring life to the project. Custom details like the stainless Deuce grille insert painted in French Gray, ’50 Pontiac taillights, and gennie Guide 682-C headlights perched atop Offenhauser stanchions are a perfect nod to days gone by. For the interior, Fabrice wanted it to echo that of Ken Gross’ Deuce as well as the Spencer car. He enlisted Canevas Mobil of Delson to make it real, starting with a custom-made bench seat and door panels covered in expertly pleated brown leather accented by tan German square weave carpet. An owner-fabbed dash was topped with engine-turned aluminum and filled with black Stewart-Warner Wings gauges, and a LimeWorks Speed Shop ’40 Ford column capped with a gennie ’40 Ford DeLuxe steering wheel navigates the course. Sitting in the roadster looking through the Hallock-styled windshield as the vintage Chevy V-8 spews thunder through its pipes it’s hard not to imagine the car roaring across El Mirage. Fabrice nailed the look of his roadster by infusing just the right historical elements into its creation, making it timeless in its own right. Well done!